


Human Boys

by candiedrhododendrons



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-17
Updated: 2015-01-17
Packaged: 2018-03-25 02:10:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3792697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candiedrhododendrons/pseuds/candiedrhododendrons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Young Hera and her friends discuss their understandings of Galactic politics while their village prepares for yet another standard evacuation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Human Boys

“HEY.” THE BLUE TWI’LEK BOY ran over to join his female friends, two of which were kicking a plastic ball around in the dirt. The children were playing on their favorite hill on the edge of their village. “So, my folks said I could play for a bit.” He intercepted the ball as it rolled between the girls, kicking it hard with his foot and watching it ricochet off a tree. Hera, sitting beneath the tree’s branches, ducked just in time. “So tired of packing,“ Brek continued. "I wish those Humans would just leave.”

The lavender skinned girl rolled her blue eyes, catching the ball on its path towards the ground. “Don’t be stupid,” she said, flipping a lek over her shoulder. “Those Humans are here to defend us.” She dropped the ball to the dirt and dust fluttered where it landed. She swung back her leg and kicked the ball to her friend, Numa, who was standing a few meters away.

“Then why are we going to hide underground, Iya?” The boy asked, attempting to steal the ball from Numa. But the girl was far too quick with her footing, and she managed to return the ball to her lavender friend with a gentle push kick.

“We’re hiding from the _Separatists_ ,” Numa explained. Brek stepped back a few meters so that, along with Numa and Iya, the three of them formed a rough triangle. Hera sat alone below the tree nearby, occupying herself with the construction of a home for her doll, made up of branches and stones. Iya back heeled the plastic sphere in Brek’s direction.

“I met some Humans from the Republic, once. Back when we lived in Nabat,” Numa said.

“We know. We know,” Iya responded, wanting to dismiss the topic.

But Brek held the ball still underneath his foot at Numa’s mention of Nabat. He, Iya, and Hera grew up right here in this village and not one of the them had actually ever heard an account of a Separatist attack in full detail—from _anyone_. Numa never talked about the military occupation of her home, beyond saying that she met a couple of soldiers and even a Jedi, and that Humans were not as bad as some of the adults on Ryloth seemed to think. Brek and Hera glanced at each other, eager to hear more. But Iya was already anxious about her first ever evacuation. And she was not in the mood to discuss the reality of the possible genocide that lay ahead of them.  “And they saved everyone,” she said, quickly, hoping the topic would sink.

“Well, those of us that made it,” Numa reminded her, frowning and gesturing for Brek to pass her the ball. He picked it up from under his foot and tossed it at her. She caught it and paused, taking a moment to roll it around in her hands. “They helped us to save ourselves, I’d like to think. I mean, they only came through the blockades after our village was taken hostage. They didn’t exactly save my parents when our homes were destroyed by droids.” She swallowed back the memory in the way she’d grown used to doing in the short period of time, and suddenly gave the ball a sharp throw. Iya caught it with a grunt.

The group was still for a moment, and quiet. The sky was bright, but they knew that above the atmosphere, invisible to their eyes, hovered a threat to the existence of their people. Here they were playing ball as if it were any other day. Yesterday, they had leapt with joy at the news of the schools being closed. But, today it was sinking in that not only school, but life as they knew it was probably coming to an end. Today, their parents weren't home making dinner, or tending to gardens. Their parents and teachers and neighbors and friends were all getting ready to move the village underground, packing and preparing for an escape from a murderous political power—a power that was strong enough to eradicate all the life on their very planet. Each of the children had their own reasons for being afraid that afternoon. Hera the least of them all, being the youngest of the children and still somewhat illusioned to the horrors of war, knowing only the ballads and tales about her heroic father’s victories on the battlefield.  

It was Brek, the second youngest, who broke the silence and eventually said what they were all thinking. “You think that’ll be _us_? That we’ll all go out like that someday? Up in smoke?”

“Nah,” Numa said, confidently. Her long, teal lekku waved elegantly as she shook her head. She was only a teenager, but had headtails that added to her beauty and made many women in the village covetous of their length. “I mean, I survived then. Who says we won’t this time?” She gestured at Iya, now, to give her the ball. The lavender Twi’lek sighed, passing it to her.

“You’re so positive, Numa.”

“I wish I was brave enough to help soldiers and stuff like you did,” Brek said, catching the ball in his blue hands, after Numa tossed it to him. “I hate just _running away_  all of the time.” He threw it back to the teenaged girl.

“Hey,” Numa said, as the dirt-cladded ball landed in her hands. “You never know how brave you are until you have to be.”

They tossed the ball around silently for a few minutes. Below them, at the bottom of the hill, fellow villagers were locking up homes and sheds, and loading crates. Suddenly, Hera spoke up from her spot below the tree branches. She was a small and pretty girl, with light green skin and luminous, bright green eyes. Her yellow dress was smeared with mud, and the soles of her feet were blackened with dust. “I bet we could fight the invaders on our own, if we really tried. My father did it once, without the help of any Humans.” She added another twig to the roof of the small, makeshift house she was building for her stuffed tooka doll. The others turned to look at her.

“True,” Numa shrugged. “But, eventually, we _did_  have to ask for help. Sometimes that’s just the wisest thing to do.”

“Besides,” Brek said, glancing behind him at Hera, and shouldering one of his three lekku out of view. “My mums say your dad is a dreamer. The Resistance isn’t nearly powerful enough. We don’t even have space ships. Senator Taa said so too, I think.”

“Hmph.” Hera sat up straighter and stuck up her nose. “My father says Senator Taa lacks compassion.”

Iya snorted. “You’re like two and a half. What do you know about compassion, Hera?” She and Brek chuckled softly, while Numa looked off distractedly at something in the distance. “Your dad is just jealous because he isn’t our senator.”

Hera’s frown deepened and she raised her voice. “That isn’t true!”

“What the…” Numa whispered. She was on her tiptoes now, looking at something in the direction of a nearby mountain path that led down to the village. "Stars… is that… _a Jedi_?”

Hera immediately dropped what she was doing and they all followed Numa’s gaze toward the mountains. At a distance, but still visible, a woman and boy were coming down the path. They were dressed in brown tunics and robes, the woman wearing a long skirt and the boy, loose fitting pants, and boots. They almost blended in with the sand colored scenery surrounding them, and none of the villagers seemed to take any notice beyond a brief glance here and there.

“ _Woah…_ ” Brek said, his mouth hanging open.

All of them watched the strangers in awe with widening eyes. Hera stood up, holding her doll tightly against her chest, and moved in closer, next to Iya.  They watched as the woman gestured towards a home surrounded by a fenced area of land. Hera, gaping shamelessly, could see clearly that both of the Jedi were alien, Humans probably, with tan skin and dark hair. Something metallic hanging from their wastes glistened in the sunlight.

Iya smiled sheepishly, placing a hand on her hip. “ _Oooh_ ,” she said. “And the boy one is _cute_.”

“Oh brother,” Brek scoffed. “What is it with you and Human boys, Iya? They’re all pretty weird looking, if you ask me.”

Iya coyly shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

It was the abrupt sound of a man yelling from a distance that instantly brought back everyone’s attention. “NUMA!” They all jumped.

“ _Kark_ ,” the teal girl said under her breath. She called back down the other side of the hill. “YEAH, UNCLE NILIM?”

“YOUR AUNT IS LOOKING FOR YOU. YOU HAVEN’T FINISHED PACKING, YOUNG ONE.”

Numa sighed, and shoved the ball into Brek’s hands. “Let me know if anything cool happens later in the tunnels,” she told him. “And careful, dude. Jedi have super hearing, you know.” She winked and turned, immediately taking off in the direction of her house.

Brek’s eyes widened at that information. Hera and Iya were still watching the strangers. The pair was now humbly making their way through the village as if it were their own.

Hera scrunched up her face. “But why does the lady one have ears like a boy? Is she a Human too?”

Iya slugged her in the shoulder. “Shut up stupid! Didn’t you hear what Numa said? Besides,” her voiced dropped to a whisper, slightly coated with jealousy. “Whether she’s Human or not, she’s prettier than _we’ll_  ever be.”

 

<><><>

 

Down the hill, among the hustle and bustle of Twi’lek villagers frantically preparing for departure, the Human boy and the Chalactan woman approached a fenced lot. Inside of the fenced area was a small home and a shed with boarded up windows.

Upon reaching the gate entrance, the woman placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Wait here,” she said. “I need to speak with an old friend of Aayla’s. And then we can return to the ship and leave before the blockade closes in.”

“Yes, Master.” He watched as she went inside the lot, and walked towards the front door.

 

<><><>

 

Hera snickered and looked up at Brek. “You’re right. They are pretty funny looking. Don’t Humans have blood-red eyes, too?”

Again, Iya gave her shoulder a sharp punch. “SHUSH. Are you _trying_  to embarrass me?”

Hera rolled her eyes and rubbed her shoulder. “He probably doesn’t even speak Twi’leki,” she mumbled.

“He might,” Brek reminded her.

“Whatever.” Hera could not care less if they knew she thought they were weird looking aliens. She was still very young, not quite nine, but she already knew girls her age were supposed to fawn over Human features. And that annoyed her, to say the least. “He’s just a kid like us.” She paused for a moment and inspected the button eyes of her doll. “You know, I could fight a Separatist without the help of an alien invader, I bet.”

Iya noisily sucked her teeth. “You really don’t know anything, do you? They’re not invading us, they’re _stopping_  the invasion. Now, quiet, before he hears you.”

“So what if he does? And my father said—”

Iya snatched the stuffed tooka from Hera’s hands. “Seriously! _Shut your kriffin mouth._  No one cares about what your dumb father says. _Stars_.”

“HEY!” Hera exclaimed, grabbing for it. But Iya, being so much taller than her, held the toy far out of her reach. “Give her back!”

“Shhh! Raise your voice again, and I swear I’ll throw it up that tree.”

“I SAID GIVE HER BACK!” Hera clawed the air for her toy. That doll had been a gift to her from Numa. And it seemed that whenever Numa wasn’t around, the older kids seized the opportunity to pick on her.

“Not until you stop YELLING. Just hush, already!”

“Iya, just give it to her,” Brek advised. “Before she starts crying, or something.”

Hera turned towards him and stuck out her chin defensively. “I don’t cry!”

Iya chuckled, still holding the doll above her head. “Wow. If you can’t even get your doll back from me, what makes you think you can fight off a Separatist?”

Hera frowned. She considered tackling the older girl and showing her just what made her think she could fight off _anybody._  But before she could make any such move, the doll suddenly soared right out of Iya’s fingers. At first, Hera’s heart sunk, and she thought the girl had really just thrown it out of pure spite. But the toy halted midair, seemingly with a mind of its own, meters above their heads.

The children gasped. Iya retracted her hand in fear. All of their eyes widened at what seemed to be a possessed tooka doll staring down at them with button eyes and a threaded smile.

“ _What the actual…_ ” Iya whispered.

But then it slowly descended. Brek and Iya backed away, as it stopped in front of Hera.

Hera stared opened mouth at her doll hovering in midair, right before her eyes. She hesitated, and then quickly took it with both hands, feeling the fabric collapse in her grasp. All three of the children looked down the hill in unison to where they saw the Jedi enter a village home.

The Human boy was looking up at them now, his hand still outstretched from his Force wielding demonstration. Hera caught his eyes and gasped. He stared at her briefly. And then he half-smiled and waved subtly with his hand. She frowned and blinked at him, hugging her doll tightly against her chest.

 

<><><>

 

The woman, returning from the house, came up behind her padawan and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Caleb,” she said, and promptly he turned around to face her. Briefly, she glanced up to where he had been staring, at a group of Twi’lek children playing beneath a tree on a hill. Returning her eyes to him she said, “Seems no one is at home. We must hurry and get back to Coruscant.”

“Right.” He nodded. He followed behind her as they walked quickly down the path from which they came, his padawan braid bouncing against his hood.

 

<><><>

 

Iya stomped her foot and wailed like a dying lylek after the boy left. “Oh my _frakking STARS_ , he heard us!” She covered her eyes and lamented, “This is so _mortifying_! I HATE you, Hera!”

Hera paid her no mind, as Iya took off running down the hill, never wanting to see anyone’s face ever again.

Brek laughed loudly, throwing back his head. “Oh brother. What a drama queen. Wait till we tell Numa about this!” He nearly fell over giggling. But, after a while, he decided he ought to follow Iya back to village. “Come on, Hera. We better finish getting ready.”

Hera stood in place for just another moment. Embracing her doll, she said a silent goodbye to her tooka’s little house beneath the tree. And then she followed behind Brek and Iya. When they turned off the path to their homes, she continued alone on her way to hers. She treaded the dusty ground with bare feet, deftly avoiding pebbles.

Biting her lip she tried not to feel sad. Because this was goodbye. This was really goodbye to everything she’d known.

Instead, she tried to think about Iya’s face when she realized the strangers overheard her being a jerk. And that Jedi boy they’d just seen from atop the hill…well, he wasn’t so funny looking after all. As it turned out, Human boys didn’t have blood-red eyes as she’d guessed. As a matter of fact, she could not tell whether his eyes were blue or green.

And, she’d never say it out loud, but as a matter of fact, she sorta liked them.


End file.
